10 Ways to Increase Insulin Sensitivity for Better Fat Loss

Your insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism are directly correlated to your body composition. Impair your body’s ability to efficiently store glucose, and you’ll be fighting an uphill battle against fat loss. Here are 10 ways you can increase insulin sensitivity and make it easier to change your body composition for the better.

Eat Low-Glycemic Carbohydrates

The glycemic index measures a given food’s impact on blood glucose levels. High-glycemic foods cause a rapid rise in blood glucose, which results in your body releasing large amounts of insulin.

The constant bombardment of insulin on your cells causes them to become insensitive to insulin’s effects over time – meaning more and more insulin is needed to achieve a similar result. Eating a low-glycemic diet can improve glucose uptake and increase your insulin sensitivity [1].

Make Exercise Part of Your Lifestyle

Exercise causes a reduction in blood glucose and plasma insulin levels for days after physical activity [2]. One of the main mechanisms for why this happens is the translocation of GLUT4 in fat and muscle tissue. GLUT4 transports the glucose from the food you eat into your cells.

When you exercise, a higher number of GLUT4 translocate to muscle cells as compared to fat cells – resulting in a better ability to store glucose in muscle tissue without the presence of insulin.

EGCG is a catechin antioxidant believed to be responsible for the majority of tea’s health benefits. Green tea also has numerous health benefits. It has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke, cognitive impairment, and osteoporosis [4].

In other words, the higher your fiber intake, the better your insulin sensitivity, and the lower your risk for diabetes. Adding fiber to your meals lowers the glycemic index of your meal, which will in turn increase insulin sensitivity and slow down the release of glucose into the bloodstream. Eat your veggies!

Avoid Trans Fat

Trans fats are nasty little man-made fats (there are some healthy natural ones) used to extend product shelf-lives and change the consistency of unsaturated fats to make them more saturated. Trans fats cause fat gain around the stomach – even in the absence of excess calories, and are associated with insulin resistance [8]. Trans fats cause impaired insulin binding to insulin receptors – resulting in decreased insulin sensitivity.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a great tasting spice used in many foods. The good news? Cinnamon can increase insulin sensitivity and lower blood glucose levels [9][10].

You can add it to your oatmeal or other food, your protein shakes, or your liquid beverages. If you need a healthy snack idea, might I recommend some baked cinnamon apple chips to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Limit Fructose Consumption

Most people know fructose as “fruit sugar”. It’s true that fruit contains varying amounts of fructose. However, fructose is also ingested from processed food sources that contain high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Fructose is metabolized by the liver. Exposing the liver to large quantities of fructose leads to the rapid stimulation of lipogenesis (fat formation) and triglyceride accumulation, which in turn contributes to reduced insulin sensitivity [11]. Avoid processed foods, and you should be safe from the detrimental effects of fructose.

Avoid Fast Food

This one is fairly self-explanatory. Fast-food consumption has strong positive associations with weight gain and insulin resistance, suggesting that fast food increases the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes [12]. Fast food is loaded with trans fats and high-glycemic carbohydrates – both of which reduce insulin sensitivity via different methods.

Get Your Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant that scavenges free radicals. People that have low vitamin E concentrations in their blood have a higher risk of insulin resistance [13]. Supplementation of vitamin E increases glucose disposal and improves insulin action [14].

The good news is that you don’t have to take supplements to get your RDA of vitamin E. You can get it by eating whole foods such as nuts and seeds. However, if you’re already taking cod liver oil, it gives you 100% of the DV (daily value) in every tablespoon.

51 Comments

Tony Schober

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that if you need more help losing weight you can download my ebook The 10 Forgotten Rules of Weight Loss absolutely free.

Hey Juliette, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that white tea is better – just different. There doesn’t seem to be as much research done on white tea as compared to green tea, but the research that is published shows mixed benefits between the two teas – where at times green is better, and at others white is. I would say that as long as you are drinking at least one of them, you are getting 90% of the benefits of tea.

My brother was told by his doctor that he had insulin dependent diabetes. He went to see a nutritionist specializing in dianetes and now with carefully adhering to a higher fibre intake and lower glycemic diet, he rarely if ever has to take his insulin.

This statement is a contradiction of itself. Any endocrinologist will tell you that a type on diabetic who doesn’t take their insulin frequently will die. It is more likely your brother is a type two, who improved his lifestyle and therefore doesn’t need to take his insulin as frequently. Source: type one for 30 years.

My question is, what if you have issues with low blood sugar levels naturally? How will this affect me? I do not have an issue with my weight, just that thin layer of fat hissing my abdominals. Any suggestions? I exercise regularly. But the problem is I’m deployed & living offof MRE as food source. Thanks!

What kind of issues do you have Amanda? Most people that have low blood sugar have it as a result of reactive hypoglycemia. They eat a carbohydrate-dense meal, or they eat higher-glycemic carbohydrates. As a result, it causes a quick rise in blood glucose levels, and then insulin comes in to clear it out. Unfortunately, insulin tends to do too good of a job, and ends up leaving you with low blood sugar.

Do you need to drink pure green tea or is it okay to have another flavor added. My neighbor gave me some Jasmine Green tea, is that just as beneficial as Green tea alone? Is loose tea better than tea bags?

Just wanted to throw out there that I’ve tried Carlson’s Lemon flavor fish oil AND their Orange flavored one. Everyone’s diff’t, but I like the ORANGE much better (as do my kids). Might want to give it a try sometime.

you mention walnuts for omega 3, is that the only type of nuts, i take 30g of cashew nuts which i thought did the same thing.
i also now take 3 fish oils at every meal does this seem excessive? recommendation by my trainer?

Honey doesn’t make you gain weight, excess calories do. Ideally, you’d want to limit your intake of sugars, but a teaspoon of honey here or there won’t hurt you and is my go-to choice for a sweetener. Use raw and unfiltered.

Unfortunately agave is nearly all fructose, which shouldnt be ingested outside of small amounts in some fruits. Mangos are also high in fructose. Apparently apples are too, but the apple is digested slowly enough to dilute the effecr. Not so for apple juice.

Hi Mary, that’s going to be very individualistic. The important thing is to make sure you aren’t adding a bunch of stuff to it to make it more palatable. Other than that, green teas with high EGCG content are best.

I just found out through my fasting glucose blood test that I am in the pre-diabetic range. Are these guidelines that can help reverse this trend? I lost 25 lbs. before getting this result but I do have another 25 or so to go but as far as body composition goes well, I am not looking more toned along with the weight loss and my belly is hanging on for it’s dear life. Luckily I found this site a month ago so I added in some kettlebell for weight bearing activities and I need to refine my whole foods eating as well.

Being a diabetic I find the whole Insulin resistance/Low GI thing confusing, even after all this time. I was diagnosed Type II in 2000. My mum, both grandfathers, brother (Type 1) and nephew (Type 1) are as well. I’ve seen the dire consequences of what it can do and I don’t want to head down that path. I have decided that as soon as I finish my college study and have my qualifications as a PT I’m going to get further into understanding it, not just for me but for clients who, I know, are just as confused and bamboozled as I can be. Thanks for this great article. Any suggested reading would be appreciated

Hi Tony, I have slowly added most of these items to my day over the past months . .. .Is the Carlson’s oil you recommend better than the carlson’s in pill form? The pills would be easier, but I’ll go with whichever one is better. The complete label is not online! Thanks!

I personally find the liquid easier. To get just a teaspoon worth of oil, you have to swallow 5 huge pills. Easier to just drop a tsp into your smoothie and call it a day. Otherwise, there isn’t a difference (except for the ingestion of the softgel).

I’m not a tea drinker myself, so I don’t have a recommendation. Maybe someone else does. The key is to pick one with high ECGC content. I add cinnamon to my oatmeal with honey. Cinnamon sticks would be best, but I don’t think there is much of a difference between that and ground.

Go to a spice store and buy some quality cinnamon. My favorite is Korintje Cinnamon. I also use Vietnamese and Ceylon. Each of them are different. They are strong, fragrant, high quality kinds. I use them for different uses. Once you use these you won’t go back to the general kinds. Good luck. 🙂

Hey Tony,
I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It took doctors nearly three years to figure it out. I am now on Synthroid(50 mcg) and doing everything I know how to lose the weight and inches(weight training, power plate with a trainer, walking, tennis(team), barre). Eating healthy…mixed greens, salmon, tuna, organic chicken, nuts, almond milk and almond butter, fruit and berries in the morning, Greek yogurt, cheese, vegetables, eggs, sweet potatoes, quinoa, squash, freekeh, wheat fiber(red mill), flax seed-barlean’s, goods fats…avocados, olive oil, coconut oil.
Dark chocolate and plenty of water. This is primarily my diet on a weekly basis. I would love to hear any suggestions you may have. Thank you, Kathy

Such great information, and so true. I am trying to lose weight so I can get a tummy tuck after having three babies. I have to lose my love handles in order to get the surgery and its not going to be easy.. but I know I can do it! I have lost a lot of weight by simply walking and running (cardio) I cut out all my drinks and would ONLY drink water.. I mean that is naturally what we are supposed to drink. I also have PCOS which affects my hormones and it messes up my glucose levels, I have risks for diabetes.. so I try to cancel my carbs like bread, pasta, potatoes. I just have issues trying to eat the healthy things and the healthy carbs. Do you have any advice on what kind of healthy carbs I can eat? What do you think about the paleo diet too?

Hi, I am just starting this weight loss journey. I have read over your articles and I am trying to make sure I follow your advice correctly. My concerns are what to eat post workout. I read on strength days to eat good carbs, protein and good fats to keep insulin high. Then on cardio days to eat low or no carb, lean protein or a protein shake to keep insulin down for optimal fat burning? I am confused on the 10 ways to increase insulin sensitivity for better fat loss. This is to make insulin low such as on cardio days right? For instance if I did strength training and had oatmeal with walnuts and cinnamon wouldn’t that make my insulin low when I need it high? Or would it balance out since I am eating the oatmeal carbs to keep it high? Just trying to figure out what is the best post workout to keep me at optimal fat burning for both workouts. Thanks

Hi Gigi, can I offer you a different perspective? You’re just starting your weight loss journey. There’s no need to get caught up in all the details right now. The things you’re focused on right now will only net you 20% of your results. Instead, focus on the 20% that will net you 80% of your results – get your total calories right, eat 80% of those calories from whole foods, and strength train. Once you have that down then you can worry about the things in this article.

I have recently discovered matcha tea. It is the same tea used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony. Matcha tea is grown in the shade for a month before the leaf tips are harvested, in order to increase L-theanine, which has calmative properties. The high-antioxidant leaves are dried, the stems and veins removed, and the leaf is ground into a super-fine, shamrock green powder. The brighter the green, the higher the grade. The phyto-nutrient-rich powder (1 tsp.) is mixed with hot water (8 oz.) and the leaf is consumed as the tea is imbibed.There is a hint of sweetness in matcha, as well, and the caffeine that assists metabolism is assimilated more slowly without the “crash” of coffee and black teas.
A cheaper version is “sencha” tea. The stems and veins haven’t been removed and are ground with the leaf.
Matcha tea has become a morning favorite of mine. I feel so much better at the beginning of the day now.